248 CHARADRITDAi 
seen throughout the summer. During the rest of the 
season, owing to the influx of migrants, Oyster-catchers 
become abundant around the coasts of Great Britain and 
Ireland, and have also been met with away from the tide. 
These birds are highly gregarious; at high water they 
closely pack together on the summit of a reef, occupying all 
the available room. Here they make a pretty study in black 
and white, while their pink legs and orange beaks brighten 
the dark rocky pedestal which supports them, At first ebb 
they fly off, and alight on the sand-banks over which the 
shallow, rippling wavelets still flow. As the tide recedes, 
Fic. 36.—OYSTER-CATCHER, 
the birds scatter themselves over extensive stretches of sand 
and ooze, on which they run about with great agility in 
search of food. Immense numbers, in company with Gulls, 
may be observed standing far out at the edge of the tide, 
sometimes at a distance “of seven to eight hundred yards 
from high-water mark. These birds ‘Tine out’ in a long 
unbroken flank, reminding one of a regiment of infantry 
soldiers; to the unaided eye they look “like mere specks, 
yet the chorus produced by their shrill voices carries with 
remarkable distinctness. 
As the tide turns, speedily converting the flat sandy 
beach into a sheet of water, Oyster-catchers, generally 
accompanied by other species, may be seen collecting 
together on sand-banks yet uncovered by the inflowing 
tide. Ihave several times watched great numbers in com- 
